Israeli president Rivlin in Athens: ‘Start-up created every 8 hours in Israel’

Naftemporiki– Visiting Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Monday reminded his Greek hosts that “a start-up is born in Israel every eight hours”, in statements during an official reception at the presidential mansion in central Athens.

“…Their (start-up) creators want to change the world, which is something that makes us very proud,” he added.

The Israeli head of state arrived in Greece for an official visit on Monday.

Rivlin noted that the “DNA” of some of Israel’s start-ups and innovations are related to Greek innovations, one not in the too distant past, as he noted, pointing to the “Pap test” developed by Dr. George Papanikolaou.

Turning to the political front, Rivlin expressed the Israeli side’s concern over what he called the rise of “Nazi forces” in Greece’s political world, a direct reference to ultra-nationalist Golden Dawn (Chryssi Avgi), while at the same time lauding the stance by his Greek counterpart, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, as well as Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras vis-à-vis such phenomena.

One of the highlights of the Israeli president’s visit to Greece will be the laying of a foundation stone for Thessaloniki’s Holocaust Museum.